Lineman has brain surgery

Bob Sakamoto, Tribune staff reporterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Naperville North defensive lineman Mark Rochwick underwent surgery early Saturday to relieve pressure on the brain after sustaining a head injury during the Huskies' 30-19 loss Friday night at Wheaton North.

Rochwick, a senior, was shaken up during a play in the second quarter but was able to walk off the field.

"Once he got to the sideline, he was sitting down and started getting dizzy," Naperville North coach Larry McKeon said. "Then he lost consciousness. We won't know until we look at the film what caused the injury."

The 6-foot, 195-pound Rochwick was taken by ambulance to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.

The doctors' diagnosis was a subdural hematoma, or a blood clot in the brain. The condition most commonly occurs after a severe blow to the head, which causes the brain to bounce within the skull, causing a tearing of blood vessels around the brain. The clot causes the brain to swell. Small clots can go away on their own, but larger or more severe clots require surgery to remove the clot.

"Doctors said the prognosis was bright," said Naperville North Principal Ross Truemper. "When Mark was brought to the hospital, all his vital signs were OK."

Truemper said if it had been a life-and-death situation, doctors would have operated immediately. Rochwick remained unconscious while doctors prepared him for surgery.

"This is just terrible, and my heart goes out to his parents and teammates," said Wheaton North coach Matt Foster, who went through tragedy last May when Wheaton North defensive back Dave Ryan died from an inoperable brain tumor. "You can't think about football at a time like this."

Ryan's father, Mike, and son Christopher, along with Wheaton North athletic director Matt Fisher were among the crowd that gathered in the second-floor waiting room. McKeon, Naperville North players and their parents and Rochwick's friends maintained a vigil into the early hours Saturday.